Time for a thread about the current year 12 to discuss our plans for university or music college, and hopefully help each other out a bit. We could try all posting up a bit of info such as....

Name: Milly.
Subject for uni: Music.
Hopefully applying to: Oxford, Manchester/RNCM Joint Course, RAM, RCM.
Top choice: Oxford.
Worried about: Not getting good enough AS grades for Oxford.
Plans before applying: Work on a music course for kids over the summer, go on a music course, read loads of books about music, write a good personal statement!

Add your own stuff if you like, hopefully this will spark off some ideas and maybe we'll see each other at some open days. Anyone else going to the Oxford Music one in early July?

Well...
Subject or uni : Chenistry or Applied maths
Applying to : Imperial College, UCL, Cambridge
Top choice : Imperial
Worried about : having to decide between maths and chemistry
Plans before applying : Work experience at Lloyd's, persuade my school to let me do Further Maths A2

Maybe I'm not supposed to reply to this as I'm year 13 rather than 12, but anyway.

I hope all your exams are going well.

About the personal statement, I would advise thinking about what you should write in it soon. If you want to go to Oxford, they will want a brilliant personal statement as well as the grades. If you work hard enough and concentrate well but also relax you should be able to get the grades. You want to make sure though that you have a jam packed personal statement full of great extra-curricular activities you have done. Make sure before you send it off that you mention everything about yourself (must be relevant obviously), and don't be afraid to put yourself in a good light. Most people are modest (which is good normally), but that's not needed here. Best wishes for you Milly.

Um.. if you are applying to oxford your interview performance + admissions tests + assigned projects (if any) will be the most important (AL grades are of course vital). About extra curricular activties, different addmissions tutors see them differently. Both of my director of studies don't emphasise too much on extra curricular activites. They are looking for enthusiasm and motiviation about the course and ur personality.

personal statement.. um just concentrate on ur exams for the moment and think about that over the summer. i wouldn't worry too much at this stage when you have got loads of exams saying hello to you. Would be ok if you write it over the summer. good luck.

I wasn't thinking of writing it this second - summer will be fine. I was just saying if you haven't got many experiences under your belt, something which extra-curricular activities will certainly give you, then you would not be able to do write a good personal statement or do well in the interview. Obviously, the interviewee will also be looking for enthusiasm for the subject, but they will need evidence of this from said activities.

If applying for music at uni, how important is it to have non-music-related extra-curricular activities?

What do i do for places that prefer Grade 5 piano/ keyborad skills such as oxford....etc???

Well I think the Uni's like to look for someone who's interested in other things as well as your subject because it shows you won't work into overdrive. But on the other hand you need to show that you know heaps about your subject!

Dunno, I'm wondering that too...I guess if you're strong in other areas they might be OK with it, are you having piano lessons at the moment? If you're not, maybe get some over the summer or at least practice sight-reading Bach chorales and figured bass (I think that's what Oxbridge want). Where are you thinking of applying?

I think they will be interested to know whether people have had a well-rounded education, rather than focusing exclusively on music. Musicians nearly always need "portfolio careers", so things like knowledge of one or more foreign languages or evidence of organising skills could be useful.

Well I've done bronze + silver DofE, and I'm a music captain at school, which shows organisation, and I'm doing French AS (as well as all the music stuff). Do you think that'll be ok?

I think anywhere will be interested to see you are a 'well-rounded individual.' When I applied, I put down extra-musical activities and then suggested how they contributed to my music....for example, I was the weekend manager of an independent shop, had to organise staff, work as part of a team, good-timekeeping etc, all of which I related back to chamber music!! Seemed to work as I got several offers without interview and graduated from the University of Manchester last year!

As for piano skills, I don't know about other universities but the amount of people I know on my course who don't even play the piano (despite a supposed Grade 6 minimum in the entry requirements!) is quite surprisingly high!

Good luck, future music students!!

Yes - and issues like being able to work in a team, be able to relate to others well, problem solve and perhaps be able to lead a group of musicians. The list could go on......

If you need any tips on the personal statement in the future, just PM me!

Expect some mail in the near future!! My school make all music college applicants finish their PS by the end of term and I'm not even thinking about mine yet Never mind...

OK That's fine. I thought you were going for IR not Music last time I asked? Why the change in mind?

Yeah I was...but I figured I can keep my options open longer by doing music since I could always go into Politics after uni, and also because I sort of run my life around music stuff...so it would make sense to actually be able to justify that at uni rather than screwing up my work because I'm too keen to carry on with music (as I do at the moment a bit).

I heard a speech given by the vice-principal of one of the Oxford colleges (to possible future candidates and their parents). In the speech the vice-principal went into a lot of detail about what they are looking for in candidates. Basically, as idiotmatthew has said, they are looking for someone who is passionate about studying their chosen subject, and they want to be sure that the candidate has the sort of personality that would enable them to benefit from the opportunities offered to them.

I'm doing almost exactly the same as you Bo, hoping to do Music at Oxford first choice, then Cambridge (as organ scholar I can apply to both!), then possibly RNCM, still haven't really sorted out my Plan B and Plan C lol. But the worrying thing is that as organ scholar, you have to apply by 1st September which means getting everything sorted out at school straight after the exams!

Also, you have to submit examples of harmony/counterpoint and I haven't done any, it's not part of the AS syllabus I'm on. And then there are the organ trials to worry about as well as the academic side.

But I thought along the same lines, I don't know what I want to do for a career and the teachers were talking about how for Oxbridge entry you have to be passionate about your subject and I thought the only thing that applies for for me is Music. So I'm going for it!

Good to know so many people are researching and looking ahead to applying to universities. I was beginning to think that prehaps I was getting a bit ahead of myself. I've found my perfect English and Music joint course at Southampton but I'm a bit stuck on my other choices. Really want to do English and Music joint but their really aren't that many choices of uni that are high on the league tables for both subjects. Southampton was the only uni that was on both league tables. So I'm going to have to apply for just English at some (Maybe Bristol, or Oxford) and keep praying that I get into Southampton. So much to think about...

I really like the look of the music course at southampton - it looks really good.

Good luck with all this katy: which college? Bear in mind that the other university will know in this case whether they are 1st/2nd choice and might get iffy in interviews if they know that you don't want them most (especially the case with Oxford, as there are rumours afoot that they feel that they are just the warm up for playing the trio sonata in Cambridge!) Your chances of getting in are pretty good I reckon from the standard you are at: apparently extra pedal classes are being introduced at Oundle Prospective Organ Scholars this year so people can catch up, because the standard has been slipping!
I really wouldn't worry about not having the harmony/counterpoint (though you do need harmonisation for the keyboard skills!) The person who got St Peter's Oxford over me hadn't sent any in (whereas I had!)

Everyone else:"Passion or real enthusiasm" is what you have to convey in your personal statement (though in the end I didn't have to write one because going for organ trials I got my place in September, and didn't put any other choices down. My friends got very jealous though). However, be careful not to write the word "passionate" in the statement as the universities will regard this as not having much imagination!

I was thinking of Southampton at another point.

How do you actually show passion in a personal statement? By showing all the stuff you do linked to your subject of choice?

It doesn't matter (to a certain extent) how much you've done but rather what you've done and how you can convey "passion". You have to try and link everything to your subject. I can't type very well at the moment, as a cat is sitting on me, but check out www.studential.com

Thank you very much. I think I'll be using that a lot!

I don't mind looking over PSs either.

That could be very useful! I'm not worrying about writing at the moment; i'm going to get the exams out of the way first!

Shameless plug here, but what about Birmingham?

Please don't rely on league tables to choose where you're going to apply to - I really cannot stress this enough. They're not accurate and are often based on research ratings, which aren't totally applicable at undergraduate level. For example - Plymouth Uni ranks higher than RNCM for Music in the Guardian League table. I'll be the first to admit, I know zilch about Plymouth Uni, but somehow I highly doubt that it's better than RNCM for Music. The other thing to consider is, you won't necessarily be happier at a "better" uni than at a "lesser" one. You need to look into the courses and see which ones interest you the most and pick somewhere where you've visited and felt like you'd be happy in that environment. I've learnt from going to Uni this year and dropping out that the best uni for you is where you're happy, regardless of whether it's a top 10/20/whatever Uni.

And feel free to send me any PSs you guys want looking over!

Have you looked at Keele?

I agree with Soph, don't keep your head stuck in league tables and only think that you must go to a "high", "prestigious" uni. Contrary to belief, they're not always the best universities for each person.

Okay, so I'm year 13 but it's quite likely that I'm having a gap year and reapplying so I get to join in with this stress all over again. Woohoo.

Subject for uni: Classics/(and variations of)
Hopefully applying to: Durham, Warwick, Bristol, Nottingham, Edinburgh, RHUL
Top choice: Warwick or Durham
Worried about: Not getting good enough A2s
Plans before applying: Don't have any really...I'm largely prepared from last year which is handy...

Oooh, another classicist!

I'm looking at Classics too.
Applying to: Oxford, Bristol, Warwick, Manchester and one other - as yet unknown!
Top choice: Oxford, probably. Though am tempted by possibilities of Manchester and RNCM...
If I don't get into Oxford I might take a year out and go to Russia to study cello And I might take a post-grad at a conservetoire. All very uncertain.
Worried about: Missing opportunities!!

Definitely! The league tables are not accurate at all. Look at university websites, prospectuses, the JCR bits of the websites, other forums, talk to people there and most importantly if you can visit them! You'll soon get a feel about what you like and what you don't like.


*cough* Durham Good choice!



Wow, those are some interesting plans

Subject: Music and/or English (probably will end up doing combined-y courses I think, though kinda depends on exam results).
Universities: Hmm. Good question. Durham, Newcastle...and the others depend on what I decide to do (will be St Andrews and perhaps Edinburgh if I decide on English; Cardiff if I do both; and no idea if I do just Music!)
Top choice: Durham! Shame about the competitiveness. I like St Andrews just as much too - if only they did Music properly. )
Worried about: Grades, though I have all I need for most places already (bless the Scottish education system ). Getting offers (read 'getting a Durham offer', mnyeh).
Plans before applying: Well, I'm currently embarking on a gap year. Working, practising, doing UCAS-y things...but I'm pretty prepared, seeing as I started it all last year before deciding to apply now instead. My personal statement, for music at least, is all but finished.


Combined Arts at Durham maybe? You could do Music and English, and it's high on the league tables. (On the Times one it's first for English and eighth for Music.) Same with Newcastle. (Tenth and eleventh, I think). It's not joint honours as such, but it could be, if that makes any sort of sense.

Ooooh , more Durham people! I've heard that combined arts is really enjoyable at Durham

But beware of taking too many subjects within a combined framework! Two is definitely manageable but in my experience three is time consuming and you need to learn time management skills very quickly, though that's probably true for most single and joint honours courses too.

Name: Natalie
Subject for uni: Music
Hopefully applying to: Oxford, Nottingham, KCL, Southampton, Bristol and possibly RAM.
Top choice: Oxford.
Worried about: AS grades, my lack of experience with Bach Chorales/harmonisation and playing figured bass.
Plans before applying: personal statement, books, music courses, dipABRSM.


I'm going to the Oxford Music open day in early July. Hope to see you there!

Wasn't aware of the combined arts honour at Durham, looks interesting. Though my cousin has just finished her degree there and the costs of going and coming back to London have been enormous. But, it shows how much more research I still have to do...

Name: Emily
Subject for uni: Music.
Hopefully applying to: Royal Northern College of Music, Royal College of Music, Royal Academy of Music, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama & Trinity College of Music
Top choice: RNCM
Worried about: Not passing the audition for RNCM!
Plans before applying: Practice lots and lots over the summer, read up on different colleges, write an AMAZING personal statement so there is no possibility that any college can possibly reject me...pah.

Well - you can do things like get a railcard, or you can get national express buses which aren't too expensive. Don't let transport put you off a university


Ooo, good luck for that! What do you play?

...especially when the university is Durham.

*cough cough*

30th September I could be there

Think positively Nicki!

30th September you WILL be there!

And on the 30th September I'll be a music student again I can't wait, missed it so much

I WILL get to Durham, I WILL get to Durham.

Wahey How's fluting going?

which instrument/s?

It's going well, now I've got my baby back and fixed! Now I just need to find the funds to buy all the new music I want!

Go busking I did with a friend the other day and we got £130 in 3 hours

Busking is fun.

I have no clue...
I'm liking the look of London Met though, they do a course in repair and manufacture of instruments...anyone know of any other unis that do that sort of thing?

Just did a UCAS course search and it seems only London Met. does it.

I know this might seem really obvious to you, but for the Joint Course you have to apply to RNCM and Manchester Uni through CUKAS and UCAS respectively. I have a friend who missed out because he didn't apply to both. Likewise you only need to apply to the Joint course on CUKAS, not that and the BMus, just the one - I was doubly charged! I got paid back in the end though. I found it a difficult application and audition procedure, though perhaps that's because I didn't get the experience of Oxbridge interviews! If you need help PM and I'll be happy!

yeah...I did that...
Now to decide how to fill up the other 5 places on my UCAS form...TVU anyone? Then maybe I can get rid of the giant pile of prospectuses that I keep falling over...